Beach protecting barrier



J. J. \O'ROURKE BEACH PROTECTING BARRIER Aug. 23,

Filed April 7, 1937 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 *8 HIGH WATER H/GH WA rE Lgw WnT-EE v INVENTOR. Ufa/755 d. Giga/.erg

BY 4 ,Z/g MMZya/#m ATTORNEYS.

Aug. 23, 1938.

BEACH Filgd April 7, 1937 J. O'ROURKE .PROTECTING BARRIER v 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 lnwENToR.

JQ/#Es d POUR/ 5 v BY @wm m; @m24 @Mg/@wm ATTQRNEYS.

Aug. 23, 1938. v J. J. 'ROUR'KE 2,128,012

BEACH PROTECTING BARRIER Filed April '7, 195'? 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 l. ow M/a rez 1N VENTOR. MFI/75e L/ O'EoUe/E BY @M MAZ@ @M224 //mgmm,

. I ATTORNEYS.

Patented Aug. 23, 1938 )STATES PATENT vOFFICE Y BEACH PROTECTING BARRIER. u. p *James Jfonourke, Chieagg, 111.

Applica-tion April 7, 1937, serial lvm/135,562

' claims. 101.6144) y Thisinvention relates to-a beach protecting barrier, 'and more particularly to a bulkhead having a serrated upper grade.

One feature of this invention is that it pro- 5.` vides a very effective protection defending a foreshore or beach from the erosive or destructive action of the waters to which it is exposed;

anotherI feature of this invention is that it enables circulation of water adjacent the beach in 1Q.order'to continually renew such water; yetanother 'feature is that it is particularly designedi and adapted-for the protection of beaches along a substantially straight long expanse of otherwise unprotected shore; other features and advantages of thisv invention will be apparent from i the following -specication and the drawings,- inl which:- i V Figure lisa side elevation of" a bulkhead ernbodying this invention; Fig. 2 is a View along :a uiplane transverse to that in Fig 1` showing' the general relation of the ybulkhead l-to the beach and sea bed; Fig. 3 is altransverse view, partly in section, of the bulkhead shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is afdet'ailed'topplan 'view of aY portion of the 2tbulkhead; Fig. 5 is a fragmentary detailed side elevation adjacent the fastening bolts; Fig.v 6 is a view of a modified form of this invention; Fig. 7 is a similar view of another *modification andFig. 8"is.`a detailed sectional viewof the in- 39-terlocking. sheet metal section,v along the line 8 8 0f Fig. 1.

Where the beach or foreshoreof a seais sub-- stantially straight and naturally unprotected, the

action' .of waves," tides, andi othermovements- 3,5.;scours away the foreshore material, with a resultant undesirable detrusion. This is particularly true where the material of which the foreshore is composed is relatively loosely packed, asis the case with madeiground,` and especially 49fzawhere sand has been deposited to provide a beach.

It is,` yof course, customary tov build sea vwalls -or bulkheadstor protect such=fore`shores,' butV these have generally been of thel typecornprising a flat uppergrade, whether'the bulkhead was imlf'mediatelyadjacentthe foreshore or out in the sea spaced a distance from it. While such a bulkhead at the water line, properly ballasted with heavy rock or the like, effectively protects 50 the foreshore, it completely eliminates any possibility of its use as a beach. A solid bulkhead of even grade spaced from the beach, while it protects it from erosive action, traps the water between it and the shore in such manner that it 55 becomes contaminated with continued use and renders the beach unsafe from a health standpoint.

The present invention comprises a bulkhead or barrier on the sea bed substantially parallel Itol but spaced -from the "beach, the upper gradeor surface being serrated in such a manner that high and low portions alternate in regular repetition, the high portions extending to ory above high water' level for the sea, and the low portionsV being at' or below low water level. thus at all times, regardless of water level, portions projectingy abovethesurface to breakup waves which would otherwise have an erosive effect on the-beach; and yet at all timesl portions There are 10 of the-bulkheadare below water so that surface 15 disturbance,l by waves and the like, causes a continual circulation of water from one side of the bulkhead to the other with consequentV renewal of the water between the bulkhead 'andI the beach; l I

Referring more lparticularly to the embodi ment of this inventionillustrated herewith fin' Figs; 1 to 5 and 8, a beach or `foresh'ore Ill is `protected by abulkhead or barrierll located on" the bed4 lI2 ofthe sea;` to which the beach'isreX-f25`g posed.1 `The [barrierv II is 'here shown 'ascomprisi'ngaY plurality ofv interlocking sheet metal sectionsr `I3 driven into 'the' seabed I2 and sup ported at their lower portion by a heavier ballast portion..4 i f Referring more particularly to Figs. 3 and 4, it will'be seen that a series of woodenpiles |54 are driven intothe seabed on the outer vsideof the* sheet metal' sectionshl3, these woodenfpiles be` ing yconnected to each otherby awale or wooden beam I5 and to an iron wale or channel beam I6 bytiefrodsfI'l.' The channel wale-I6`is firmly fastenedfftothe sheetiron segments I3, some of the .segments being held by the ends of the tie rods I1 and others by any other convenient means, 40;..

tending above the ballasted lower portion, is

serrated in form. That is, the upper edge or grade is of varying height having portions extending above high water level for the particular sea in which the bulkhead is located, and

intermediate portions below the low water level.

The Word serrated, as used herein, contemplates an upper surface of irregular height comprising substantially regular repeating sections, whether the form of such variation is jagged, undulated, step by step, or otherwise. Fig. 1 illustrates the preferred embodiment in sheet metal sections, where the rise and fall in grade is in steps; Fig. 6 shows an embodiment where the change in grade from the low portions to the high portions is abrupt; and Fig. 7 shows a modification wherein the change in grade is, smooth and gradual, approximating a sine wave, adapted to be constructed of concrete or similar material. Regardless of the form, such bulkheads are intended to comprise extended portions at or above high water level and lower portions at or below low water level, the low portions being intermediate the high ones and both being regularly repeated at frequent intervals, so that the high portions are suiiiciently adjacent each other to insure no long wave sections going through therebetween even at high water.

The water barrier is principally submerged, as may be readily seen in Fig. 2, and it is preferable .5. to have it form the outer edge of the made beach or foreshore, so that the inner level of such foreshore is above the bed I2 of the sea. The lower or ballasted portion should rise a substantial height above the sea bed in order that it may block A:sub-surface currents and water movement.

While the barrier is described as being used in connection with the foreshore or beach on a sea, it is to be understood that this term means an ocean, lake or in fact any large expanse of Water .zhaving waves or other surface disturbances strong enough to have substantial erosive effect, and

, wherein there is a periodic rise and fall of average or still water level. The invention described herein achieves its full advantages over an ordinary bulkhead only where there is such a rise and fall or Water level. Where. the water level is constant a-barrier with a flat upper surface can be located a foot below the water level, for example, and

achieve to a certain extent the desirable results of the barriers illustrated herein; but where there is a considerable rise and fall of level such a flat surface barrier is valueless, since part of the time itwould be completely above water and block any circulation, while at other times it would be so V:many feet below the surface that erosive action of the water would be unimpeded.

In the form of this invention illustrated herewith using the angular interlocking sheet metal sections, Athe segments I3, illustrated in Fig. 1,

Yfare about a foot and a half wide and rise about a foot at each junction. Thus only a foot of any one pile is'unsupported by its neighboring sections, and throughout the majority of their height above the Wale I6 the right angle portions of the `adjacent piles form sufficiently rm reinforce- 1 ment to withstand any buffeting normally encountered. At a datum or normal water level only even with the third step or pile vsection there would be openings for circulation at least four and one-half feet wide, and two feet in depth at the center. At high water there would still be projecting portions seven and one-half feet wide and only sixteen and one-half feet apart to break up rollers and waves. Even at the lowest water level encountered the embodiment shown would provide an opening a foot and a half wide 1ocated every twenty-four feet for some circulation. This is 'in connection with still water level, but in practice surface variations and waves would cause water to break over the two adjacent sections of sheet piling, only a few inches above the surface and thus insure good circulation even at low Water.

' While I have described and claimed certain embodiments of my invention it is to be understood that it is capable of many modifications. Changes, therefore, in the construction and arrangement may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as disclosed in the appended claims in which it is my intention to claim all novelty inherent in my invention as broadly as permissible in view of the prior art.

I claim:

l. A protecting bulkhead of the character described adapted to be located on the bed of a sea spaced from a beach, comprising a wall with a plurality of portions extending to or above high water level and a plurality of intermediate portions at or below low water.

2. A protecting bulkhead of the character described adapted to be located on the bed of a sea having a periodically varying water level spaced from a beach exposed to the erosive effects of said water, comprising a principally submerged wall having portions of different height, the highest portions extending at least to high water level and the lowest portions being at or below 10W water level and intermediate said highest portions.

3. A protecting bulkhead of the character described adapted to be located substantially parallel to but spaced from a beach, comprising a wall with a relatively heavy base portion, and a lighter portion thereabove having a serrated upper grade, the highest portions of said grade being always above water and the lowest portions being always below water during periodic variations in the level of such Water.

4. A protecting bulkhead of the character described adapted to be located on the bed of a sea having a periodically varying water level, substantially parallel to but spaced from a beach exposed to the errosive effects of said water, comprisingl a principally submerged wall having a relatively heavy base portion and a lighter portion thereabove having a serrated upper grade, the highest portions of said grade extending at least to high water level and the lowest portions being at or below low water level and intermediate said highest portions.

5. A protecting bulkhead of the character claimed in claim 4, wherein said lighter portion comprises interlocking sheet metal piling sections.

its 

